Willie Mays’ Catch

“I had it the whole time,” Giants center fielder Willie Mays quipped after making his famous catch of a shot off the bat of Cleveland’s Vic Wertz. He probably did. Depending on whom you talk to, Wertz hit the ball between 450 feet and 450 miles in the cavernous Polo Grounds, with runners on first and second in the top of the eighth of a 2-2 game. Mays’ improbable over-the-shoulder catch saved two runs, and the Indians now had runners on first and third with one out. New York reliever Don Liddle had been brought in to face Wertz but now was being taken out of the game. “Well,” he said to incoming pitcher Marv Grissom, “I got my man.” Grissom squeezed out of the jam, and the Giants went on to win the Series.